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The time course of attentional and oculomotor capture reveals a common cause

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Hunt, Amelia R., von Mühlenen, Adrian and Kingstone, Alan. (2007) The time course of attentional and oculomotor capture reveals a common cause. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, Vol.33 (No.2). pp. 271-284. ISSN 0096-1523

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.33.2.271

Abstract

Eye movements are often misdirected toward a distractor when it appears abruptly, an effect known as oculomotor capture. Fundamental differences between eye movements and attention have led to questions about the relationship of oculomotor capture to the more general effect of sudden onsets on performance, known as attentional capture. This study explores that issue by examining the time course of eye movements and manual localization responses to targets in the presence of sudden-onset distractors. The results demonstrate that for both response types, the proportion of trials on which responses are erroneously directed to sudden onsets reflects the quality of information about the visual display at a given point in time. Oculomotor capture appears to be a specific instance of a more general attentional capture effect. Differences and similarities between the two types of capture can be explained by the critical idea that the quality of information about a visual display changes over time and that different response systems tend to access this information at different moments in time.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions:	Faculty of Science > Psychology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Eye -- Movements, Selectivity (Psychology), Attention
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance
Publisher:	American Psychological Association
ISSN:	0096-1523
Date:	April 2007
Volume:	Vol.33
Number:	No.2
Page Range:	pp. 271-284
Identification Number:	10.1037/0096-1523.33.2.271
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/395